"I am proud of our team no matter what the outcome was," Greenwich Academy first-year coach Alistair Lonsdale said. "This is the first time this soccer team has ever tied Loomis Chaffee and I don't think we have ever beaten them before. I'm exceptionally happy for our kids. They were awesome today."

Sophomore Hannah Withiam and senior Hannah Maynard each scored in the first half for Greenwich Academy, which entered the showdown ranked No. 1 in New England, while Loomis was No. 2. The Pelicans, who posted a 3-1 win over the Gators in the NEPSAC Class A Tournament semifinals and beat GA 4-0 in last year's regular season matchup, knotted the score at 2-2 on a questionable second half goal.

Senior forward Dee Marmer received a crossing pass from senior forward Faith McCarthy and booted a short shot past GA goalie Katie Grant with less than 10 minutes left in the second half. However, McCarthy appeared to be several feet outside the touch line as she sent her pass to Marmer just before reaching the corner arc area. The official trailing the play and the official on the far side of the field did not get a good view of the play and unfortunately for the host Gators, the goal stood.

"You can't do much about it," Maynard said of the play. "Hopefully, we will get another chance to play them. A tie against them is almost as good as a win."

The Gators (12-1-2) took a 1-0 advantage early in the opening half on a goal from the opportunistic Withiam.

"It was a cross in the box that was dribbled around a little bit and I just got my foot on it," Withiam explained. "I was excited to give us the lead."

Maggie Gardner, a senior forward, made it a 1-1 game when she blasted a shot from more than 30 yards out that took a funny bounce and found its way past a diving Grant midway through the first half. GA, which went into the New England contest riding an 11-game unbeaten streak (9-0-2), regained the lead with just under 10 minutes to go in the opening half.

Senior co-captain Eliza Hompe sent a through ball up the field that Maynard got a good touch on. Maynard found herself on a breakaway and deposited her shot from close in past Loomis goalie Allison Saucier, putting the Gators ahead, 2-1.

"Our offense worked off our counterattacks and we took advantage of most of our opportunities," Hompe said. "Last season we lost to them in the semis in the playoffs and two years ago we lost to them in the quarterfinals. It has never been this close before when we played them, so we're happy with how we played today."

The Pelicans (7-0-3) had several chances to tally the equalizer during the final minutes of the first half. Grant made a diving save on a shot from the right wing by Faith McCarthy and stopped a header off a corner kick by Kate McCarthy.

"The first 30 minutes we were outstanding," Lonsdale said. "After that they (Loomis) played much quicker and changed the speed of the game."

Both teams came out strong in the second half and had several scoring chances.

"One of our problems is that we sometimes come out flat in the second half," said Greenwich Academy senior midfielder and co-captain Reynolds Ostrover, who helped anchor the team's solid play in the midfield. "We really tried to get pumped up at halftime."

Maynard almost tallied a second goal off a cross from Hompe and junior Lucy Williams nearly found the goal on Hompe's free kick during the second half. After Marmer's questionable goal, the Pelicans had few chances to take the lead against the aggressive Gators.

"This has always been a difficult game for us," Maynard said. "We knew it was a very important game for us and we were very prepared for it."

Said Withiam: "We knew they were going to play a diamond in the middle, so we had to stay tight."

Greenwich Academy, which has clinched the FAA regular season championship, will visit Lawrenceville School Saturday before hosting Convent of the Sacred Heart on Monday.

"There were a lot of positives for us today," Ostrover said. "We tied them, we scored against them and we came close to scoring more goals."

NOTES: Grant made six saves for the Gators. ... Saucier stopped six shots for the Pelicans. ... Senior Alyssa McCloskey was credited with the assist on Withiam's goal.